Please-a-Crowd Holiday Recipes

Hosting a dinner on December 25 (or anytime during the holidays) can be daunting. With company coming, you want the food to be festive but fuss-free, because right about now your schedule is such a blur of baking, buying, and wrapping that throwing a party sounds just hectic, not heartwarming. That's why you'll love this manageable menu: It includes a dozen compatible dishes you can combine and customize for eight to 24 guests.

Create-Your-Own Yuletide Menu

Create-Your-Own Yuletide Menu

Both main courses are as simple to prep as they are showstopping, whether you serve the celebratory rib roast crusted in pink peppercorns or the mustard-glazed side of salmon. Even if you cook both entrées (like we've shown here), you'll still have time to devote to the other dishes — and your guests.

The shortcut secret of this spread: The salmon and rib roast are fix-it-and-forget-it effortless, requiring zero basting and not much bother to make them party-ready. All of the seasonal salads and sides, from the cranberried pilaf to the cucumbers with fennel, partner perfectly with either the seafood or the beef.